It took North Zone all of 28 minutes to wrap up a 52-run victory over West Zone and enter the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy semifinal, at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here on Wednesday (August 26, 2026).
Chasing 287, West needed 67 runs on the final morning with three wickets remaining. But just like it had towards the end of the penultimate day, it lost wickets in a heap and missed the opportunity to spar with South Zone in the last-four clash starting this Sunday (August 30, 2026).
First to go was Tanush Kotian, as left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq hoodwinked him with a delivery that kept its line after pitching and rearranged his stumps.
With another left-arm tweaker, Nishant Sindhu, operating with Abid in tandem, West opted to send southpaw Tushar Deshpande ahead of Shardul Thakur to disrupt the rhythm.
The Mumbai pacer managed to stay put for 17 deliveries, but a rush of blood led to his downfall as he stepped out of the crease and tried to hoick Abid (four for 60) only for a thick edge to travel to the slip fielder.
Specialist batter Urvil Patel (25, 35b, 4x4) was joined by Shardul but the duo’s association lasted just three balls as the former missed a slog sweep off Nishant and was adjudged leg-before.
Spiralling down
In just one hour of cricket, spread across day three and day four, North had gone from boom to bust, from 195 for three to 234 all out.
India cricketer Arshdeep Singh admitted after the match that it was an unlikely win and that he was already planning his next travel when Musheer Khan (96, 126b, 8x4, 2x6) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (66, 70b, 7x4) were batting confidently until around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday (August 25, 2026).
“I was thinking about Sher-E-Punjab, back home, and what time I should get my ticket booked,” Arshdeep said with a smile. “But we just stayed in the moment and we always knew that whenever the partnership breaks, there is a chance.
“The run-out we got [of Ruturaj]… credit goes to Kanhaiya [Wadhawan] for that. That wicket came, and after that it changed.”
The scores: North Zone 251 & 222 bt West Zone 187 & 234 in 57.3 overs (Musheer Khan 96, Ruturaj Gaikwad 66, Abid Mushtaq 4/60).
